3 England Test stars who could be regulars under Brendon McCullum's white ball sides ft. Ben Duckett
After weeks of speculation, England have chosen to overturn their own split-coaching policy by handing Brendon McCullum the coaching duties of the white-ball side as well. The former New Zealand player will take charge of the team by the end of the year, ahead of the challenging white-ball tour of India and the ensuing 2025 Champions Trophy.
McCullum has had coaching stints with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in terms of white-ball coaching experience. He has revolutionized the England red-ball side by imprinting his vision for an attacking style of play, and the white-ball side is in need of the same after a major dip.
England have underperformed across their last two major white-ball tournaments, and could do with an overhaul and spark. McCullum has some exciting names to work with, and could potentially even merge his two worlds together by considering some of the red-ball members for the shorter formats as well, since the core fundamental of aggressive cricket is likely to remain the same.
On that note, let us take a look at three England Test stars who could be regulars under Brendon McCullum's white-ball sides.
#1 Ben Duckett
The left-handed batter had a start-stop career with the national team, but he has found his calling in the red-ball team. He has been the first-choice opener for the last couple of years, forging an excellent chemistry with Zak Crawley.
With the Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow era officially over, England need to find a robust opening pair in white-ball cricket. While the likes of Phil Salt and Will Jacks have been promising, England do need additional reliable options in the department.
Duckett's versatility is also a factor as he is capable of batting in the middle-order. England's lack of left-handed options in the middle order has hurt them in recent times, since floating options like Moeen Ali and Sam Curran not being feasible enough.
Duckett has opened for England only once in white-ball cricket across 23 appearances, and a reunion with McCullum in a new role might be the push that leads to bigger things.
His recent form has truly warranted a case for him. Apart from his usual exploits in red-ball cricket during the series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, he also had a prolific campaign for the Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred 2024. His white-ball stocks have increased after being a first draft pick in the Big Bash League (BBL) for the Melbourne Stars.
#2 Gus Atkinson
As much as England might want to wrap Atkinson in wool, he is a genuine all-format bowler for them, and that breed has been lacking for a while now. With his recent batting displays to support his argument, he is the ideal lower-order candidate for the white-ball side, helping them to keep the trend of a deep batting lineup alive.
Atkinson has featured in white-ball cricket regularly since his debut in 2023, and McCullum is highly likely to retain his services going forward as well. With Jofra Archer unfortunately being an unreliable option due to his injury woes, Atkinson comes across as the perfect replacement to fulfill his role in the shorter formats considering they have similar skill sets.
#3 Shoaib Bashir or Rehan Ahmed
A rather left-field choice, but an essential one taking England's ageing spin department into account. Adil Rashid, despite still being at the peak of his prowess, will not be around forever and England need to slowly introduce new spinners into the mix as well. Their secondary spin bowling option Moeen Ali's white-ball career is largely over while Will Jacks continues to be a reliable part-time option.
The 20-year-old Shoaib Bashir has integrated into the red-ball squad in quick time, and McCullum could use his control, and his tall frame in the white-ball setup as well in the future, when the time comes. The youngster does not have much limited-overs cricket under his belt though, having played only 15 white-ball matches in his career, and picking up nine wickets.
Rehan Ahmed, who has featured in a handful of Tests in McCullum's reign, is also a viable candidate to lead the spin attack in the white-ball setup after Adil Rashid. The leg-spinner presents a slight advantage over Bashir due to his variations, his experience and his batting ability as well.